Neocardina Aquarium Adventures

[afeather]

 

Okay so I'm starting this on my iphone at work; I may "journal" in greater length later when I'm at home on my computer. EDIT: Yeah, this got super long. lol it's mostly a journal for my own purposes anyways.

Hi I'm new here! I have wanted to get into dwarf shrimp for 2 years or so now.

I learned the magic of keeping dwarf shrimp in the home aquarium from Christine Ha's ShrimpThings YouTube channel. (Still one of my favorite aquarium channels that I watch) I started making excel charts with all the things I needed to buy to build a set up specifically for shrimp. Spent a few months researching and browsing shrimp supply websites and so on as well. My plan was to purchase a few supplies/items per month as my paychecks allowed and in maybe 4-6 month's time or so I'd have the perfect set up. At the same time too I wanted this tank to be planted! Something I had never tried before in the Freshwater world. I had great success with the few saltwater plants I grew so I hit the articles and YouTube channels online to learn it all.

I purchased some things I needed from TheShrimpTank.com like a shrimp food combo pack, bacterium for sprinkling under the gravel, fulvic acid (black water treatment), etc. Also bought a custom HMF filter and installed it into a brand new 10G standard size tank from the dollar sale at Petco. (Yay!) All per the instructions from ShrimpThing's channel. I started cycling the tank but life happened...

I changed jobs, moved, started dating this new guy and before I knew it, my shrimp project took a backseat to everything else. It wasn't until maybe 3 months ago I decided I had the time, income, and motivation to complete a shrimp-only set up. (Which honestly isn't that hard! Neo shrimps are relatively simple compared to other fishes or inverts, come on. Haha)

In the last 3 months, I've introduced Fluval Stratum for plants/shrimp substrate, a few different species of live plants including anubias, water spangles, moneywort, and Pellia-mono all from plant sellers on eBay. My goal was to keep it low-tech. Cholla wood was introduced as well as leaf litter, alder cones, and a driftwood center piece that I attached some of the plants to. Waited a few weeks, water levels were tested and all seemed in check!



I also had another dilemma because I still had 3 common green Corydora catfish as well as some African species of catfish I found at Petsmart (who is a nutcase). I tried researching how Cory's interact with shrimp and found mixed results. I wasn't about to let all my shrimps get vacuumed up, so I went out and bought a 2nd small (7G or so) cube tank to move the catfish to in the meantime. Eventually I'd like to convert it to a planted shrimp tank for another species or something.

It's cycled and the catfish have successfully survived the short move. (They are very hardy. I feel nothing will ever kill them lol)

Another week or two passes and I feel all the plants are doing well and am confident in my water quality. Time to finally find some shrimp! My LFS only has some Crystal Red Shrimp (not sure on grade, I can't tell) for $7.99 each. Which is nice, but I want to start off easy with Cherry Reds and see how it goes. I find a Craigslist ad from a student at a university 40 minutes away advertising cherry reds, yellows, and Blue Velvets all for sale around $3-4 each with local pick up available. Perfect! I took a friend with me because it is after all still an online ad, and picked up 9 Cherry Reds and 7 Golden Yellows for $51 flat. Not bad! This was yesterday! I didn't want to mix colors at all, but couldn't pass up a great deal. I figured as soon as my 2nd tank is well planted and running, I'd move all the Yellows and separate them. (Wish me luck haha)


They all looked healthy, active, and brightly colored. All in the juvenile adult stage by the looks of it. The transaction went smoothly and I quickly drove them home to start the drip acclimation process:


After maybe an hour and a half, I set all the little guys free in my tank and I was instantly mesmerized! They explored all afternoon and loved the leaf litter, alder cones, cinnamon stick, and especially the HMF filter. They loved the filter.


I will figure out how to share a video of them here... but yeah, that's where I am today! I can't wait to get home from work and see how they're doing after the first 24 hours.

Things to Buy/Upgrade:
-Better light (Finnexx Planted Plus+ 24/7 would be awesome)
-More Fluval Stratum substrate for 7G tank
-Aquatic Life RO Buddie 3 Stage Reverse Osmosis 50g (Tentative based on GH/KH test results)
-Salty Shrimp Remineralizer (for Neos)
-Custom 3D printed HMF filter from Printed Reefing Solutions (for 7G)

Purchased recently:
-API Master Freshwater test kit
-TDS meter
-Seachem Prime
-API GH & KH test

 

 

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[afeather]

It's been a great few days with the new shrimpies! I really love watching them. I've been thinking about placing an order with TheShrimpTank for the following things:
-BacterAE
-Salty Shrimp GH+ Mineral
-Blue Ramhorn Snails (x10)

All seem like great things to have as a shrimp keeper.

Okay back to the shrimps... I'm pretty sure these are molts? I really hope so. Found 2 in the tank drifting around. IF they are molts, I've read it's best to leave them in there. Really hoping they are!

And tank #2 is doing great. Did another 20% water change today. Corydoras seem fine. I love this cube tank though! I can't wait to move my yellows over.


Oh! I bought x25 tank bred yellow neos from another user on here! Already paid and they should be shipped this weekend. SO EXCITED!

I have some better water testing supplies arriving this Friday. I'll post results soon.

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[chappy6107]

that is a molt

[afeather]

My water parameter testing supplies came. Well, *upgrades to. I was using the smaller strip test kit before and ran out; I've always wanted the master FW kit! Also a better TDS pen than my old one and I was out of API water conditioner so I can finally switch over to Seachem Prime after reading lots of great reviews from shrimp keepers.

So I tested my larger 10G tank and my tap. I've never tested my tap so accurately before and the results are a little concerning? (pH) I'm wondering if I should invest in an R/O water filter and mineralize. I need your thoughts on my below results!

TAP:
TDS 240
KH 6
GH 10
PH 8.2 (high range PH test)

The high TDS, GH, and pH are all concerning, right?

10G Tank:
Cherry & yellow neos (x15)
HMF Swiss Tropicals custom sponge filter
X1 Otto
Various mosses/anubias/pellia and driftwood
Marineland LED light (I know, id love an upgrade)

Fluval Stratum Substrate

TDS 214
KH 0
GH 4
PH 6.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate
I'm doing ~15-20% water changes once a week.
Dosing plants with Excel once a week and Flourish once or twice

TL;DR= Do I need an R/O unit for my tap to keep neos? Could I perhaps just mix my tap with distilled water to lower high ranges?


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[afeather]

Photo of the berried yellow!

 

 

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[afeather]

Pulled the trigger and purchased an R/O system! Read lots of reviews and YT videos. Arrives tomorrow via Amazon Prime.

 

 

Also, I know I'll need to mineralize so I placed an order with the Shrimp Tank I've been wanting to pull the trigger on for a while.

 

 

Yay for clean water.... As my wallet breaks. lol

[Shrimporama]

Congratulations on your new passion. The shripies are quite addicting.I love watching the industrious little inverts  I have enjoyed reading your tank journal and wish you much success.

[afeather]

8 minutes ago, Shrimporama said:

Congratulations on your new passion. The shripies are quite addicting.I love watching the industrious little inverts  I have enjoyed reading your tank journal and wish you much success.

 

Thank you so much for the kind words! It sure has been fun so far. The set up cost is killing me but I really hope the reward is worth it. Loving it so far.

 

Btw, I used to work in Redondo Beach less than a year ago! Crowded area. haha

[Auratus]

Afeather,

Love your tanks and your passion! Beautiful shrimps too- I'm sure you will take good care of them.

 

I started my first tanks well-planted, one with dirt capped with sand, another with Fluval Stratum. The Fluval was a little hard to plant in, but the plants really flourished. Another thing it did was it always held the pH in the mid 6's for me. A touch low for neos but very stable- as long as I introduced new water slowly. Hope you will have great success!

 

p.s. I'm thinking of the RO Buddie myself too, so I will keep an eye on your reports to see how it is working for you.  

 

Auratus

[Shrimp Life]

10 hours ago, Auratus said:

Afeather,

Love your tanks and your passion! Beautiful shrimps too- I'm sure you will take good care of them.

 

I started my first tanks well-planted, one with dirt capped with sand, another with Fluval Stratum. The Fluval was a little hard to plant in, but the plants really flourished. Another thing it did was it always held the pH in the mid 6's for me. A touch low for neos but very stable- as long as I introduced new water slowly. Hope you will have great success!

 

p.s. I'm thinking of the RO Buddie myself too, so I will keep an eye on your reports to see how it is working for you.  

 

Auratus

Alot of people have the RO Buddie including myself, it is a great little RO unit 

[Auratus]

Regarding the RO Buddie, Is the DI cartridge needed for neos?

Thanks.

 

[afeather]

Regarding the RO Buddie, Is the DI cartridge needed for neos?
Thanks.
 

I was curious about that too! I wasn't sure but on Amazon Prime right now, the unit WITH the DI attachment was actually a few dollars cheaper than the regular unit. Weird! So I purchased the one with it.

I set it up last night. It was a breeze and only took 20-30 minutes following directions and YouTube video. Leaked once but it was my fault. I flushed it and ran it for a few hours. Topped off my shrimp tank with pure RO water that tested at 001 TDS! My TDS instantly dropped from 220 to 180. I'm waiting for my order to arrive from The Shrimp Tank with my mineralizer powder otherwise I'd change out the water. Not sure if I should do a gradual change or 90% or 100%?

Here's how I set it up. I currently rent a room so I just mounted it below my window because there's a hose faucet right outside. Lol a little weird, but it's fine for now. And it's easily hid behind my shoe rack. Shrimping on a budget! Haha


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[chappy6107]

do a gradual change

[afeather]

My Yellow shrimps arrived! The box they came in was destroyed by the post office and shoved (shoved!!) into my mail box. I was so worried there would be deaths. 

 

 

I was happily surprised to see all live and active yellow bodies with some extra goodies. A bit of moss, frogbit, and even a snail! I drip acclimated them all for 2.5 hours or so and did my best to count them. No matter how I counted them, I only counted 20-21 instead of 25, but it's fine. I'm glad they survived the trip. I released them and they immediately started exploring and interacting with my other Yellows. I previously had 7 or so and I was worried about inbreeding so figured expanding the colony's lines would be healthy. They're still a little pale; I don't expect them to be brighter yellow for a few days or more. I fed the tank and watched them all feast and swim around all evening. Sharing some pics! I can't wait till my 2nd cube tank has cycled. (It's on the tail end of cycling) but I have 3 Corydoras and an African bumble bee catfish in there that I no longer want as they will stress/eat my shrimps lol but the plan was to move my 9 cherry reds over to their own tank to prevent wild breedings. I need to figure it out quick!

 

Anyways--- They're SO beautiful! I absolutely love them!

 

 

 

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[afeather]

Well I experienced my first Shrimp death today. very disheartening.... I've been slowly transitioning to R/O water. I've only bought my RO unit a week ago so I've done x2 >15% water changes with SS mineralizer. Maybe I didn't dose enough? Or too little? I guess I will really analyze it perfectly next water change. I also drip-lined the new R/O water in over the course of a few hours to reduce shock.

I lost one of the cherries who I've had over 2 weeks now so I'm sure it may have been something on my end. I will pay closer attention to everything I'm doing I guess?

Everyone else looks vibrant, happy, and busy however. I bought 10 Blue Ramshorn snails from TheShrimpTank.com and they're doing great!

I got a nice pic of my yellows feasting. (My feeding dish arrived today as well! So that'll be their last meal ever served over substrate. Lol)

My new tantora white mineral stones and Snowflake food arrived today from Triton! Thank you!!


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[OMG Aquatics]

If you're using SS GH/KH+ as your remineralizer, you will likely keep experiencing deaths if your substrate isn't fully exhausted or your KH is dropped to 0.

 

Every time you do a water change with your SS GH/KH+, your pH is likely spiking from 6.8 to 7.0+ then it lowers back down again as substrate removes KH.

 

This may be the cause of death.

[afeather]

If you're using SS GH/KH+ as your remineralizer, you will likely keep experiencing deaths if your substrate isn't fully exhausted or your KH is dropped to 0.
 
Every time you do a water change with your SS GH/KH+, your pH is likely spiking from 6.8 to 7.0+ then it lowers back down again as substrate removes KH.
 
This may be the cause of death.

Really?? From research I thought R/O water + SS remineralizer was the perfect water levels for neocaridinas! So it's my substrate? What's going on?


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[OMG Aquatics]

7 minutes ago, afeather said:

 

Really?? From research I thought R/O water + SS remineralizer was the perfect water levels for neocaridinas! So it's my substrate? What's going on?


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RO water + SS remineralizer does provide proper water parameters for neocaridinas but your substrate is not inert and will lower pH by removing KH until it becomes inert.

 

I myself is currently changing from FloraMax for neos to SL-Aqua Nature Soil because I prefer the look but I did nuke the substrate by dumping loads of baking soda into a container for the soil to soak in.

 

Two options that come to mind:

Stabilize KH by adding a bit of baking soda daily when KH drops. ( This is what I would pick)

Change to SS GH+ instead of SS GH/KH+ to avoid KH/pH swing.

 

After about 1-2 weeks, your substrate should stop removing KH as long as you're continuously exhausting it.

[afeather]

Thank you for this explanation! Wow.... this is all news to me. I'm disappointed, I just bought the SS GH+/KH+! I guess I'll do the baking soda option until I exhaust my 200g bottle and can switch. I'll do more research about this. Thank you so much for your advise.


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[OMG Aquatics]

8 minutes ago, afeather said:

Thank you for this explanation! Wow.... this is all news to me. I'm disappointed, I just bought the SS GH+/KH+! I guess I'll do the baking soda option until I exhaust my 200g bottle and can switch. I'll do more research about this. Thank you so much for your advise.


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Exhaust your 200g bottle?

 

Your goal is to exhaust the substrate. 

[afeather]

Exhaust your 200g bottle?
 
Your goal is to exhaust the substrate. 

Oh yes that makes more sense.


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[afeather]

Oh man I am OVER THE MOON excited!! I found baby yellow neos today!! At least 3 I think. I came home late from work so the light was already off and they were hiding. But I turned on the light because I got a new Finnex Planted FugeRay light and had to test it. I turned it on and boom!! Baby shrimps. They make me so happy watching them. I dosed a good amount of Bacter AE and turned the light back off. So excited!

I really need to separate my reds and yellows ASAP because of this. And I had plans to aquascape my tank this weekend! All my supplies came so now I'm not sure what to do about the babies! I don't want to hurt any. Thoughts guys??

This is the best pic I could get with my iPhone 6, sorry!


Also overall progress with my tank pic. Really hoping the plants thrive with my new light!



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[afeather]

Okay, I think I have at least 3 berried females now. I'm going to be over run with shrimp soon!

I also noticed 2 "clusters"(?) of eggs(?) I assume on the undersides of my anubias leaves. Are these shrimp eggs? Snail eggs? Or neither! Haha any ID help would be appreciated



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[oem]

Finally got a chance to read about your adventure.  Your enthusiasm is great even under adverse issues.  Looks like your also entering the world of "holy molie where did all those snails come from?"  I set up a 2.5g tank for my 2 year old grandson with black gravel, some neon tetras and 2 pink ramshorn snails.  Last week she informed me that there were at least 30 baby snails.   Go figure.  Going to pull 1 adult and the babies and hope I get the female.

[afeather]

Finally got a chance to read about your adventure.  Your enthusiasm is great even under adverse issues.  Looks like your also entering the world of "holy molie where did all those snails come from?"  I set up a 2.5g tank for my 2 year old grandson with black gravel, some neon tetras and 2 pink ramshorn snails.  Last week she informed me that there were at least 30 baby snails.   Go figure.  Going to pull 1 adult and the babies and hope I get the female.

I actually bought 10 blue ramshorn snails from TheShrimpTank.com! I need to divide them between my tanks though. I've really enjoyed watching them. Thank you for the kind words!

 

 

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EDIT: ahh baby picture! [emoji7]